scorchy
Footballguy
Updated with link to Spotify playlist: Scorchy's Post-Punk Countdown (1977-1984)
I know, the last thing the FFA needs is another countdown thread, but I can no longer resist. A constant stream of projects helps me deal with COVID anxiety, and after nine months of this BS, I'm pretty much out of things to do. I had originally planned to focus on one on my true loves (classic industrial and goth) but @urbanhack's thread beat me to the punch. Then @fatguyinalittlecoattold me I couldn't start this thread till he was un-banned, and then I got obsessed with building a shed, but now the shed is done, it's cold outside, and I'm bored.
Between being a little kid in 1977 and growing up in the sticks, I missed the birth and first wave of post-punk. My parents listened to country, my older brother was all in on Molly Hatchet, and I got by with recording AT40 on my boom box. It wasn't until MTV and 120 minutes that I got a dose of "alternative" music. Luckily, the local Camelot Music had one gothy college student who would order interesting records and tapes, even if she and I were the only ones who bought them - like that first neon-green Sugarcubes tape, when I rode my bike to the mall to buy it the day after "Birthday" world-premiered. Anyway...
I know post-punk was a category in one of the song drafts, but the search function is no help and I remember there being a pretty broad interpretation and timeline for the genre anyway. I thought about going the same way, but my post-punk playlist on Spotify had over 200 songs stretching from 1977-2019 so I knew I needed some rules to make it digestible, even for the five or so people that may be remotely interested in the topic:
1) Album or single had to be released between late 1977 and the end of 1984. I went with '77 instead of '78 just to get the first Wire and Talking Heads records eligible.
2) I don't care if Wikipedia lists the band as post-punk - the song has to fit the genre too. So no song that I personally consider to be purely synth-pop, goth, garage, indie, etc. It's a fine line, and unlike other threads of this ilk, I welcome arguments about why I'm wrong.
3) My first go round at this, I quickly realized my list was over-saturated with the same bands. To make things more interesting, I limited myself to only two songs per artist, and only one song each in the top 10.
Countdown will start with #75 his afternoon.
#75 - Southern Death Cult - Apache (1981)
#74 - The Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want) (1979)
#73 - Orange Juice - Blue Boy (1980)
#72 - The B-52s - 52 Girls (1979)
#71 - The Pop Group - She Is Beyond Good and Evil (1979)
#70 - Adam & The Ants - Antmusic (1980)
#69 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her to Eternity (1984)
#68 - The Teardrop Explodes - Sleeping Gas (1979)
#67 - Kleenex - Ain't You (1978)
#66 U2 - 11 O'Clock Tick-Tock (1980)
#65 - Cabaret Voltaire - Nag, Nag, Nag (1979)
#64 - Flipper - Sex Bomb (1981)
#63 - Bush Tetras - Can't Be Funky (1981)
#62 - Ski Patrol - Agent Orange - (1981)
#61 - Shriekback - My Spine Is the Bassline (1982)
#60 - Liquid Liquid - Cavern (1983)
#59 - XTC - This Is Pop (1978)
#58 - The Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You (1980)
#57 - Sisters of Mercy - Anaconda (1983)
#56 - Simple Minds - Celebrate (1980)
#55 - Killing Joke - Wardance (1980)
#54 - Swell Maps - The Helicopter Spies (1980)
#53- Josef K - Heads Watch (1981)
#52 - The Human League - Being Boiled (1978)
#51 - Fad Gadget - The Box (1979)
#50 - Young Marble Giants - Credit in the Straight World (1980)
#49 - Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach for My Revolver (1981)
#48 - Modern English - Gathering Dust (1980)
#47 - Magazine - A Song From Under the Floorboards (1980)
#46 - Bauhaus - Kick in the Eye (1981)
#45 - Sonic Youth - The Burning Spear (1982)
#44 - The Chameleons - Up the Down Escalator (1983)
#43 - The Birthday Party - Mr. Clarinet (1980)
#42 - Cocteau Twins - Wax and Wane (1982)
#41 - The Mekons - I'm So Happy (1980)
#40 - Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone (1983)
#39 - The Raincoats - Fairytale in the Supermarket (1979)
#38 - The Fall - How I Wrote Elastic Man (1980)
#37 - Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (1979)
#36 - Echo & The Bunnymen - The Cutter (1983)
#35 - Devo - Freedom of Choice (1980)
#34 - The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)
#33 - Siouxsie & The Banshees - Metal Postcard (1978)
#16 - Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)
#32 - A Certain Ratio - Do the Du (1980)
#31 - Psychedelic Furs - Dumb Waiters (1981)
#30 - The Normal - Warm Leatherette (1978)
#29 - ESG - Moody (1981)
#28 - Delta 5 - Mind Your Own Business (1979)
#27 - Public Image Ltd. - Public Image (1978)
#26 - The Jesus and Mary Chain - Upside Down (1984)
#25 - Bush Tetras - Too Many Creeps (1981)
#24 - Pylon - Crazy (1982)
#23 - The Slits - Typical Girls (1979)
#22 - The Mekons - Where Were You (1978)
#21 - The Au Pairs - It's Obvious (1981)
#20 - The Cure - A Forest (1980)
#19 - Wire - I Am The Fly (1978)
#18 - New Order - Ceremony (1981)
#17 - Echo & The Bunnymen - No Dark Things (1981)
#16 - Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)
#15 - Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song (1980)
#14 - Joy Division - Disorder - 1979
#13 - The Chameleons - In Shreds - 1982
#12 - Gang of Four - I Found That Essence Rare (1979)
#11 - The Fall - Rebellious Jukebox (1979)
#10 - Siouxsie & the Banshees - Arabian Knights (1981)
#9 - Pere Ubu - Non-Alignment Pact (1978)
#8 - Public Image Ltd - Poptones (1979)
#7 - The Feelies - The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness (1980)
#6 - Bauhaus - Dark Entries (1980)
#5 - Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (1977)
#4 - Wire - Three Girl Rhumba (1977)
#3 - The Cure - 10:15 Saturday Night (1978)
#2 - Gang of Four - Damaged Goods (1978)
#1 - Joy Division - Transmission (1979)
I know, the last thing the FFA needs is another countdown thread, but I can no longer resist. A constant stream of projects helps me deal with COVID anxiety, and after nine months of this BS, I'm pretty much out of things to do. I had originally planned to focus on one on my true loves (classic industrial and goth) but @urbanhack's thread beat me to the punch. Then @fatguyinalittlecoattold me I couldn't start this thread till he was un-banned, and then I got obsessed with building a shed, but now the shed is done, it's cold outside, and I'm bored.
Between being a little kid in 1977 and growing up in the sticks, I missed the birth and first wave of post-punk. My parents listened to country, my older brother was all in on Molly Hatchet, and I got by with recording AT40 on my boom box. It wasn't until MTV and 120 minutes that I got a dose of "alternative" music. Luckily, the local Camelot Music had one gothy college student who would order interesting records and tapes, even if she and I were the only ones who bought them - like that first neon-green Sugarcubes tape, when I rode my bike to the mall to buy it the day after "Birthday" world-premiered. Anyway...
I know post-punk was a category in one of the song drafts, but the search function is no help and I remember there being a pretty broad interpretation and timeline for the genre anyway. I thought about going the same way, but my post-punk playlist on Spotify had over 200 songs stretching from 1977-2019 so I knew I needed some rules to make it digestible, even for the five or so people that may be remotely interested in the topic:
1) Album or single had to be released between late 1977 and the end of 1984. I went with '77 instead of '78 just to get the first Wire and Talking Heads records eligible.
2) I don't care if Wikipedia lists the band as post-punk - the song has to fit the genre too. So no song that I personally consider to be purely synth-pop, goth, garage, indie, etc. It's a fine line, and unlike other threads of this ilk, I welcome arguments about why I'm wrong.
3) My first go round at this, I quickly realized my list was over-saturated with the same bands. To make things more interesting, I limited myself to only two songs per artist, and only one song each in the top 10.
Countdown will start with #75 his afternoon.
#75 - Southern Death Cult - Apache (1981)
#74 - The Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want) (1979)
#73 - Orange Juice - Blue Boy (1980)
#72 - The B-52s - 52 Girls (1979)
#71 - The Pop Group - She Is Beyond Good and Evil (1979)
#70 - Adam & The Ants - Antmusic (1980)
#69 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her to Eternity (1984)
#68 - The Teardrop Explodes - Sleeping Gas (1979)
#67 - Kleenex - Ain't You (1978)
#66 U2 - 11 O'Clock Tick-Tock (1980)
#65 - Cabaret Voltaire - Nag, Nag, Nag (1979)
#64 - Flipper - Sex Bomb (1981)
#63 - Bush Tetras - Can't Be Funky (1981)
#62 - Ski Patrol - Agent Orange - (1981)
#61 - Shriekback - My Spine Is the Bassline (1982)
#60 - Liquid Liquid - Cavern (1983)
#59 - XTC - This Is Pop (1978)
#58 - The Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You (1980)
#57 - Sisters of Mercy - Anaconda (1983)
#56 - Simple Minds - Celebrate (1980)
#55 - Killing Joke - Wardance (1980)
#54 - Swell Maps - The Helicopter Spies (1980)
#53- Josef K - Heads Watch (1981)
#52 - The Human League - Being Boiled (1978)
#51 - Fad Gadget - The Box (1979)
#50 - Young Marble Giants - Credit in the Straight World (1980)
#49 - Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach for My Revolver (1981)
#48 - Modern English - Gathering Dust (1980)
#47 - Magazine - A Song From Under the Floorboards (1980)
#46 - Bauhaus - Kick in the Eye (1981)
#45 - Sonic Youth - The Burning Spear (1982)
#44 - The Chameleons - Up the Down Escalator (1983)
#43 - The Birthday Party - Mr. Clarinet (1980)
#42 - Cocteau Twins - Wax and Wane (1982)
#41 - The Mekons - I'm So Happy (1980)
#40 - Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone (1983)
#39 - The Raincoats - Fairytale in the Supermarket (1979)
#38 - The Fall - How I Wrote Elastic Man (1980)
#37 - Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (1979)
#36 - Echo & The Bunnymen - The Cutter (1983)
#35 - Devo - Freedom of Choice (1980)
#34 - The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)
#33 - Siouxsie & The Banshees - Metal Postcard (1978)
#16 - Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)
#32 - A Certain Ratio - Do the Du (1980)
#31 - Psychedelic Furs - Dumb Waiters (1981)
#30 - The Normal - Warm Leatherette (1978)
#29 - ESG - Moody (1981)
#28 - Delta 5 - Mind Your Own Business (1979)
#27 - Public Image Ltd. - Public Image (1978)
#26 - The Jesus and Mary Chain - Upside Down (1984)
#25 - Bush Tetras - Too Many Creeps (1981)
#24 - Pylon - Crazy (1982)
#23 - The Slits - Typical Girls (1979)
#22 - The Mekons - Where Were You (1978)
#21 - The Au Pairs - It's Obvious (1981)
#20 - The Cure - A Forest (1980)
#19 - Wire - I Am The Fly (1978)
#18 - New Order - Ceremony (1981)
#17 - Echo & The Bunnymen - No Dark Things (1981)
#16 - Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)
#15 - Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song (1980)
#14 - Joy Division - Disorder - 1979
#13 - The Chameleons - In Shreds - 1982
#12 - Gang of Four - I Found That Essence Rare (1979)
#11 - The Fall - Rebellious Jukebox (1979)
#10 - Siouxsie & the Banshees - Arabian Knights (1981)
#9 - Pere Ubu - Non-Alignment Pact (1978)
#8 - Public Image Ltd - Poptones (1979)
#7 - The Feelies - The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness (1980)
#6 - Bauhaus - Dark Entries (1980)
#5 - Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (1977)
#4 - Wire - Three Girl Rhumba (1977)
#3 - The Cure - 10:15 Saturday Night (1978)
#2 - Gang of Four - Damaged Goods (1978)
#1 - Joy Division - Transmission (1979)
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